Book Beginnings: The Devil in the White City

 Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.





The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson begins with these words:  

"How easy it was to disappear: A thousand trains a day entered or left Chicago. Many of these trains brought single young women who had never even seen a city but now hope to make one of the biggest and toughest their home."



The reader can initially sense the mystery that is going to unravel with the use of the word "disappear" in the opening line. We sense that there was a sense of naivete at the time and that the city itself is going to be a main character.

About the Book (from Publishers Weekly): Not long after Jack the Ripper haunted the ill-lit streets of 1888 London, H.H. Holmes (born Herman Webster Mudgett) dispatched somewhere between 27 and 200 people, mostly single young women, in the churning new metropolis of Chicago; many of the murders occurred during (and exploited) the city's finest moment, the World's Fair of 1893. Larson's breathtaking new history is a novelistic yet wholly factual account of the fair and the mass murderer who lurked within it.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca

Nashville Chrome by Rick Bass

     About the Book (from amazon.com): In 1959, the Brown siblings were the biggest thing in country music. Their inimitable harmony would give rise to the polished sound of the multi-billion dollar country-music industry we know today. But when the bonds of family began to fray, the flame of their celebrity proved as brilliant as it was fleeting. Masterfully jumping between the Browns' once-auspicious past and the heartbreaking present, Nashville Chrome is the richly imagined story of a forgotten family and an unflinching portrait of an era in American music. In his "breath-catching, mythic and profoundly American tale of creation, destruction and renewal" (Kansas City Star), Rick Bass mines quiet truths and draws poignant portraits of lives lived both in and out of the limelight.

"Was hers a real life masquerading as a fairy tale, or was it the other way around?" ~ Nashville Chrome

     My Thoughts: Nashville Chrome by Rick Bass is the story of the sibling singing sensation The Browns, popular during the late fifties and early sixties. With a primary focus on the eldest of the three, Maxine, the story details their childhood, rise to fame, and their slide down the music charts which led to the ending of their recording together.
     Nashville Chrome was the term coined in an effort to describe the sound of the Brown siblings from a small, mill town in Arkansas, a polished harmony that deeply resonated with country music fans. The book does more than introduce bygone music to new generations who have never heard of the group. It also serves as a warning about the cost of celebrity and the struggle to stay current in and ever-changing industry where one day you are loved and the next forgotten.
     The reader will experience a trip down memory lane as The Browns cross path with many famous musicians of the time and also establish a long friendship with Elvis, who is mentioned frequently in the book as a friend of the Brown family and referenced as romantically linked to Bonnie Brown.
     We meet Maxine in her late-seventies and in poor health. She has recently broken her hip and struggles with daily tasks yet she still dreams of a return to the stage and the chance to resurrect her career. What Maxine longs for most is a movie about The Browns, a motion picture on the silver screen that solidifies their impact on country music and ensures their legacy. After posting a request for a filmmaker on the bulletin board of her local Piggly Wiggly, Maxine receives a call from an interested young man. While she gets her wish, it isn't exactly like she imagined. For Maxine, having been blessed with an amazing talent was never enough, she needs the recognition and accolades that she thinks are deserving of her gift. Maxine Brown has published an autobiography, Looking Back to See: A Country Music Memoir, that I am interested to read and learn more about the fascinating rise of The Browns.
     Nashville Chrome chronicles a family and their journey through poverty, alcoholism, music, stardom, and loss. Along the way, the Browns experience extreme highs as well as extreme lows, and the reader has the opportunity to accompany them on the ride.

Book Club Ideas: Play the music of The Browns and others mentioned in the book at your meeting; Have members dress up in the apparel of the time such as the popular poodle skirts and saddle shoes of the '50s; Have members research a favorite musician and share the information with everyone at the meeting.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca

Beyond the Book: The Music of Nashville Chrome

     The best way to take reading to the next level is to dive right into the culture. I am currently reading Nashville Chrome by Rick Bass, the story of the sibling singing sensation The Browns who rose to stardom during the 1950s and 60s. Having never listened to their music, a quick You Tube search provided me with videos to hear the sound described in the book and see them perform. A little online research into the time period represented in your book can enhance your reading experience by strengthening your understanding of past or unfamiliar cultures.
     Whether you try a new food item, explore a different country through photographs, listen to music or watch a movie involving the characters, embrace the opportunity to connect the senses (smell, touch, hear, see, taste) to the story and benefit from your new knowledge!

About Nashville Chrome from amazon.com): In 1959, the Brown siblings were the biggest thing in country music. Their inimitable harmony would give rise to the polished sound of the multibillion dollar country-music industry we know today. But when the bonds of family began to fray, the flame of their celebrity proved as brilliant as it was fleeting. Masterfully jumping between the Browns' once-auspicious past and the heartbreaking present, Nashville Chrome is the richly imagined story of a forgotten family and an unflinching portrait of an era in American music. In his "breath-catching, mythic and profoundly American tale of creation, destruction and renewal" (Kansas City Star), Rick Bass mines quiet truths and draws poignant portraits of lives lived both in and out of the limelight.

Happy Reading!

Rebecca

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

About the Book (from amazon.com): Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life. Gilead is the winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

"But I've developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by far, than I learned anything useful from, except of course, that some very tedious gentlemen have written books." (Page 39)

     My Thoughts: Gilead (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004) is a powerful story of an ailing father attempting to say goodbye to the son he will never have the opportunity to see become a man. Written in letter form from the Reverend John Ames to his seven-year-old child, the story begins in an account of past experiences that are embedded in memory although they seem insignificant when put into words. "I'm writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you've done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God's grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle." (Page 52) The concept is simple: What would you want your child, family, friends, even strangers to know about your life when you are no longer here to represent yourself?
     Gilead is an emotional read but Robinson writes so eloquently that the sadness is soothing, even hopeful. Ames begins by telling his son about his own father and grandfather, both pastors also, and their significance in the way he has always approached religion. He writes of everyday life but more importantly of his struggles along the way, having lost a wife and child in his younger years and not finding love and family again until he thought it no longer possible. "When things are taking their ordinary course, it is hard to remember what matters. There are so many things you would never think to tell anyone. And I believe they may be the things that mean the most to you, and that even your own child would have to know in order to know you well at all." (Page 102)
     Ames begins to note the small things that one often takes for granted as the occurrences he will miss the most, his wife in her blue dress, dinner with his family, the changing of the seasons. As the letter develops, he begins to journal about situations in the present that leave him uneasy. He writes of his fears for his wife and son as he will no longer be living to shield and protect them from harm. The reader can sense that the writer has taken on a sense of panic as the days progress and his health declines. Finally, resolution comes but he finds that even though he can put his fears to rest, the ending is not how he would wish.
     Books and words had been a part of Ames' life from the beginning and it is through the words he puts down for his son that he finds the peace he needs to accept his mortality. Gilead is a beautiful story about defining oneself throughout life and departing with grace.

 Book Club Ideas: Write a letter to your child, mother, father, even friend letting them know how much they mean to you and present it to them when you are ready. Start a journal and write down your favorite childhood memories and the experiences that impacted you the most. Share an entry with your fellow book club members.

Happy Reading!
Rebecca